Agenda item

This item provides an opportunity for District Council Members to ask questions on Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority issues.

If Members wish to raise questions or issues requiring a detailed response, it would be helpful if they can provide prior notice so that the necessary information can be obtained in advance of the meeting.

The Council received and noted copies of the decision summaries from recent meetings of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) and Members were advised that any issues could be raised in relation to these meetings.

In response to a question from Councillor M A Hassall regarding the recruitment of District Council employees by the CPCA and whether partners were taking any specific actions to mitigate against this, the Executive Leader was invited to respond. In doing so, she explained that all Public Sector organisations were required to advertise on the open market and that District Council employees were able to look to the market for further employment. She went on to explain that the District Council had benefitted from employees who had moved to partner organisations because of the understanding of the Authority that they take to their new organisation. Similar and reciprocal benefits were seen when individuals moved from other organisations to the District Council. A healthy turnover of staff also provided an opportunity to recruit new employees with new skills and knowledge which could also be of a positive benefit to the organisation. In this regard, she was pleased to report on some positive appointments which had been made recently.

The Executive Leader undertook to respond in writing to the specific question regarding how much the CPCA staffing budget has increased over the previous two years.

With reference to the forthcoming Extraordinary meeting of the CPCA Board to discuss the use of an underspend to fund the cap on bus fares to the end of March 2025, Councillor J Neish outlined his concerns at the long term sustainability and the absence of a longer term strategy. Having referred to a several positive initiatives which had been put in place by the CPCA to promote public transport, he suggested it may better to address some of the areas in Huntingdonshire where few or no routes exist. In response to a question regarding her attendance and her position, the Executive Leader reiterated that the proposal represented expenditure of a time limited underspend and in her opinion supporting the £2 cap was appropriate at this stage. In the longer term, work was continuing at pace around bus routes and franchising and the Board had been advised that the outcome would be available shortly to assist with longer term decision making. Councillor Conboy reiterated that she would continue to promote the needs of the rural areas. She was pleased to report that visual mapping of routes had been possible and would help to identify those areas which had limited services.

In response to the Executive Leader’s remarks, Councillor Neish outlined his additional concerns that the proposal had not been presented to the CPCA’s Overview and Scrutiny committee. The Executive Leader explained that developments had been taking place at pace and the proposal had come through at short notice, missing the Overview and Scrutiny cycle. She urged those with an interest to watch the Board meeting on Friday and reiterated that she was keen to see the timetable for the strategic pieces of work which would provide reassurance that Huntingdonshire has the kind of public transport service to which it aspires.

Following concerns by Councillor C H Tevlin regarding the feedback she had received from residents concerning the difficulties they had experienced with the recent Bus Franchising consultation, the Executive Leader undertook to report this back to the CPCA. Councillor Tevlin also used the opportunity to highlight the importance of the survey for those residents in the rural areas who needed additional bus routes. Comment was also made regarding the importance of implementation within the timeframe.

In response to a question from Councillor L Davenport-Ray regarding the concept of Local Growth Plans, the Executive Leader reported that the work undertaken so far reflected the conversations undertaken within the Council in terms of growth, together with the principles within the Corporate Plan. Members were advised that discussions had centred around themes of ‘good growth’ ‘sustainable growth’ and not growth at all costs. Whilst some of the elements which had been identified as being important had been reflected in the initial drafting, the Council were advised that a bigger piece of work would come forward in due course which would require contributions from all.

In response to comments made by Councillor J A Gray regarding the need to tighten up on situations where governance processes appear to have been circumvented or deficient, the Executive Leader undertook to feedback the comments raised by Councillor Neish regarding the absence of any overview and scrutiny involvement in the development of the CPCA proposals. Councillor Gray also commented on three other instances experienced during the evening’s Council meeting where he felt governance improvements needed to be made.